Stearns County, MN Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Ordinance 594, Section 4, Public Safety, gives the Parks Director authority to "determine boundaries for tobacco, e-cigarette, vaporizer, or similar device free zones along the Steams County Recreational Trails" and requires the Director to "post and sign" those zones so trail users know where they apply. 4 makes it "unlawful to use tobacco, e-cigarettes, vaporizer or similar devices within the designated areas," a targeted restriction rather than a blanket ban on the entire trail system; areas outside a posted zone are not covered by this section.

3). Because the ordinance is adopted under Minn. Stat. Secs. 35 for county park and trail administration, it reaches only county-designated recreational trails and the land within them, not county roads, parking areas away from trails, or land inside cities that maintain their own separate trail systems. 4 violation is punished the same as any other violation of the ordinance.